The Union Cabinet today decided to strengthen the intelligence network to counter the menace of terrorism but stopped short of indicating anything to toughen the anti-terror laws as announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday.
The government emphatically ruled out reviving the repealed Pota law, saying the existing laws were sufficient to counter terrorism.
The proposals cleared by the Cabinet in the aftermath of last week’s serial blasts in Delhi, included setting up of a research and technology wing in Intelligence Bureau, sanctioning additional manpower to IB and Delhi Police and installation of modern gadgets like CCTV and metal detectors in busy markets.
Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunshi and Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta parried questions on the PM’s statement yesterday that the government was actively considering legislation to strengthen the substantive anti-terrorism law in line with the global consensus.
The minister chose to answer questions on whether the government was planning to bring tough anti-terror laws like Pota. “No, No, No. It (POTA) is a draconian (law) and against human rights. If the present anti-terror laws are implemented properly, there is no requirement for additional laws,” Dasmunshi told reporters here after the Cabinet meeting.
“What do you mean by tougher anti-terror laws? Some of our laws are much more strong than those in the US and UK,” he shot back when asked whether the government was planning to bring any law similar to Pota.
Dasmunshi and Gupta also faced a volley of questions on the last night’s special Cabinet meeting chaired by the PM to discuss the security situation in the wake of serial blasts in Delhi on Saturday.
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Asked whether any issue relating to Home Minister Shivraj Patil, who has been criticised for his handling of internal security, came up for discussion, he said: “Nothing of that sort”.
Congress sources maintained that there was unlikely to be any change in the home ministry “for some time”.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Home Shakeel Ahmed said his ministry had also given suggestions for making senior officers accountable. “The Centre is considering a number of innovative measures, including mobile police stations,” he said.